


Forbidden Love

by limjaeseven



Category: GOT7
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, My First AO3 Post, Oral Sex, Smut, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:42:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28477851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/limjaeseven/pseuds/limjaeseven
Summary: Mark didn’t know that he would fall for his best friend’s younger brother, someday.Alternatively: Mark falls for Yugyeom, hard. What happens when Jaebeom find out?
Relationships: Kim Yugyeom/Mark Tuan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	Forbidden Love

**Author's Note:**

> My sincerest apologies, I'm terrible at summaries. This is my first fic on AO3 so I hope you like it!

Mark had first met Jaebeom when he had just moved to Korea from the US, bumping into the younger at a café where the former was struggling to order coffee through his heavy accent and broken Korean.

“Could I have an Americano please?” He had asked, and seeing the confused faces of the baristas realised he had spoken in English. As he tried to work out how to say his order in Korean, a hand on his shoulder made him turn around to see a boy about his age, dressed in skinny jeans and an oversized t-shirt with two moles of his left eyelid, smiling at him. The boy, who he later found out was named Lim Jaebeom through his broken English, spoke something to the barista and signalled Mark to pay for the drink, making him realise that the other had ordered it for him. 

They ended up sitting together with their drinks that afternoon and found out that they were studying in the same high school, and being the sweetheart in disguise that Jaebeom was, he promised the elder to help him learn Korean in return for teaching him English.

Six months and hours of tutoring later, Mark and Jaebeom were practically inseparable, having fallen into a comfortable friendship, the younger’s volatile nature contrasting with the elder’s quiet demeanour. Through the years that were to follow, the two would only get closer, and eventually so did their families. The Tuans and the Ims shared a close bond over the years as Mark and Jaebeom’s friendship bloomed and they spent a lot of time together, that’s how Mark first met Yugyeom.

Yugyeom had been a sort of enigma to Mark, first having heard of him through Jaebeom in one of their endless conversations in high school, expressed in an odd mess of Korean and English that only the two of them understood and could speak. The younger had described Yugyeom as a brat, a four year old stuck in the body of a then fourteen year old. Having a younger brother himself, Mark understood that, and put away as just another titbit about Jaebeom’s family he was made aware of.

It wasn’t until Yugyeom’s eighteenth birthday that the two men actually met, chilling in the living room of Mark and Jaebeom’s shared apartment with the younger and his best friend Bambam, the two opting to chill with Yugyeom’s older brother and his quiet, mysterious best friend instead of going to a bar for the first time since they were both legal age officially.

“Happy Birthday!” Mark greeted, extending the last minute gift he had ordered online after finding out about the event the morning before. The younger thanked him with a warm smile, putting the box away next to ones from the other two on the pet table at the end of the couch, before settling down on the floor next to Bambam, the two instantly falling to a comfortable conversation. Jaebeom brought two glasses of wine with him as he returned from the kitchen, offering one to Mark, and sitting down on the couch lazily.

The night didn’t go anything like Mark had expected it to go, the two boys were rowdy and a lot cruder than he had expected Jaebeom to allow, being the cookie cutter strict older brother. The ‘party’ involved copious amounts of alcohol courtesy of Jaebeom and games of explicit truth or dare and dancing to lewd RnB records that Jaebeom had a thing for collecting. It was all in all a fun experience, the two younger men just having fun fooling around with their hyungs, while putting them in all sorts of compromising positions. 

At some point during the evening though, Mark started noticing the youngest in ways that could only be termed as inappropriate, like the way his skinny jeans accentuated his long legs and how his long hair fell almost ethereally over his youthful face. Shoving it aside as drunk thoughts, Mark convinced himself that he was hallucinating the lip bites as winks the youngest sent in his direction whenever the other two men weren’t paying attention.

Mark didn’t remember falling asleep that night, waking up on the couch with Yugyeom’s body spread over his, the younger’s face nuzzled in the crook of his neck, breathing softly, the intimacy sending chills down Mark’s spine. Yugyeom’s body fit against his own like it was made to do so, feeling strangely comfortable even though they had met each other only the day before. Suddenly feeling like a creep for thinking about Jaebeom’s younger brother’s body, Mark gently worked his way out from under the boy, but failed miserably when the boy tightened his arms around the man, whining in his sleep.

After another ten minutes of struggling, Mark gave up, not wanting to disturb the younger who would be understandably tired after the previous night’s activities. It was an hour later when Jaebeom, who had had the sense to get up off the living room floor and sleep in his bed the previous night, saw Mark’s exasperated face under Yugyeom and woke the youngest up. The blush that crept up Yugyeom’s face as he realised what position he was in only made him look cuter, much to Mark’s dismay.

After that fateful night, Mark met Yugyeom several times, Jaebeom asking the eldest to tag along with him whenever he went to meet the younger, saying that he wanted his best friend and brother to get along well. They spent hours over coffee and pastries at the café where Jaebeom and Mark first met, the place having become an important landmark in the two men’s life and spoke about anything and everything, occasionally helping the youngest with college assignments. Bambam joined them every now and then, the four of them enjoying each other’s company thoroughly.

If Mark had thought that he could bury his thoughts towards the younger, he was sorely mistaken because every time he looked at the younger, his eyes wandered to his pretty lips, the twinkle in his eyes when he spoke about dancing, the sharp collar bones that peaked over the wide collared t-shirts. It was worse though, when the younger wore tank tops, showing off numerous tattoos he had gotten all over his pale body, Mark’s favourite being the geometric dandelion inked across the boy’s ribs. The tattoos made it hard for Mark to concentrate sometimes, his eyes tracing the black lines with his eyes wondering what it would be like to touch them, feel them under his skin, feel Yugyeom under him.

Mark tried to pay more attention to Jaebeom during their conversations once he felt himself losing control when it came to the younger. That just made Yugyeom pouty, complaining that the eldest never paid attention to him. The weird push and pull that Mark experienced threw him for a loop as he tried to not fantasise about his best friend’s younger brother while also not ignoring him completely.

It went well for a while, Mark learning how to keep Yugyeom at an arm’s distance from himself, but then Jaebeom got an opportunity to go to Milan for a month to study under a world renowned photographer. Mark was immensely proud of his best friend and took a day off work to help the younger pack and dropped him at the airport. Coming back to an empty house was odd, having lived with Jaebeom since they got into college but he knew he would get used to it soon enough.

But fate had other plans for Mark. Two days after Jaebeom left, he got a call from the man in the middle of a meeting. Excusing himself from the conference room, Mark picked up the call to hear a panicky Jaebeom on the other side.

“Hyung I have a huge favour to ask”

“What happened?” Mark asked, concerned. Jaebeom was never one to panic call anyone, too composed at all times for his own good.

“Bambam’s mom is not doing well so he’s flying home to Thailand tonight. Yugyeom hates staying alone, we used to share a room as kids because he was afraid of the dark and could never sleep without someone nearby. I know this is a big favour I’m asking, but can Yugyeom stay over till Bambam comes back?” Mark’s mind kept repeating the same words ‘this is a horrible idea’ but before he could understand what he was doing, he had already given his answer to Jaebeom.

That evening, a new pair of shoes sat on their shoe rack when Mark came back home. He stepped inside to see Yugyeom lounging on the couch, on his phone, not noticing the elder. Mark just sighed before stepping into his room to take a shower and change into his pyjamas, exhausted after a seemingly endless day at work.

He was surprised to see Yugyeom working diligently in the kitchen when he returned, trying to recreate Jaebeom’s world class dishes for dinner. “Yugyeom?” The younger turned around harshly at the sound, eyes wide as he looked at Mark like a deer caught in the headlights.  
“O-oh hey hyung, I d-didn’t realise you finished showering. I thought I’d cook dinner since you’re letting me stay, which I’m sorry about. I mean I’m sorry about troubling you, Bam just had to leave and I hate staying alone. I’m not scared, I just don’t like it and I should probably stop rambling before I make a bigger fool of myself than I already have.” Mark just chuckled as the red coloured Yugyeom’s ears and cheeks, flustered.

“It’s totally fine, Gyeom. Jaebeom’s room was empty anyways and I like having company, it’s a little sad to come back to an empty house after work,” Mark reassured the younger, reaching over him to grab some plates from the rack and setting the table while Yugyeom finished cooking.

“Jaebeom taught you how to cook well, Yugyeom! I might just make you cook for me every day as a repayment for my generosity,” Mark joked.

“I’m fine with that, hyung. I can cook”

“I’m kidding, I’m used to cooking in the mornings since your brother, in all his artistic glory only wakes up after eleven” Jaebeom hated waking up early, sleeping till noon most days. Mark had learned to cook breakfast for the two of them before work, leaving Jaebeom’s portion in the refrigerator and in return Jaebeom cooked dinner for them most days.

“It’s the least I can do, hyung.” 

Mark smiled at the younger, reaching over to ruffle through his soft raven hair. The two of them finished dinner without much ceremony, moving to the kitchen afterwards where Yugyeom washed the dishes while Mark put them back in their respective places. As he was wiping a plate, Mark realised that that day had been the first time he had spent time with Yugyeom without Jaebeom around and he didn’t mind it at all. It almost felt like Yugyeom was more open and free without his brother around to call him out for the smallest mistakes.

They sat on the couch to watch TV for a bit but Yugyeom started yawning soon, making Mark decide to call it a night. They parted ways with soft smiles and small waves, before stepping into their respective bedrooms. Mark brushed his teeth and went over his emails before settling in bed, back rested against the headboard as he read through some papers for work the following day, room lit with only the soft yellow light radiating from the lamp on his bed side table.

It was nearly two am by the time Mark had reached the end of the pile of papers and files that he had gotten home from office. He stacked them properly, arranging them in his bag before returning to his bed to turn in for the night when a small knock on his bedroom door caught his attention. He first thought he had imagined the sound but another series of quiet knocks were audible to him immediately after.

“Yugyeom?” Mark called out, unlocking his door. The younger stood in front of him, wearing a tank top and basketball shorts, shoulders covered in one of Jaebeom’s fluffy blankets. His eyes were glued to the floor, not daring to look up at Mark. The elder felt a sudden urge to protect the boy, his almost six foot tall body suddenly feeling small with the way he curled in on himself. Pulling softly on the blanket, Mark wrapped his hands around Yugyeom, enveloping him in a warm hug, patting the back of his head as he nuzzled in the crook of the elder’s neck.

“Can’t sleep alone,” Yugyeom mumbled, causing the older to chuckle softly, guiding the male to his bed and sitting him down on it. Yugyeom’s arms slid to Mark’s waist as he stood between his spread legs, stroking a hand soothingly through the boy’s hair.

“Sleep here, then” He mumbled, his brain foggy from the exhaustion but the urge to take care of Yugyeom overrode his rational part, urging Yugyeom to lie down on the bed before climbing in next to him. He tucked the boy in carefully, untangling the blanket from around his shoulder and draping it properly before grabbing his own blanket and lying down next to the boy.

“Sorry, hyung,” Yugyeom whispered, sleep already taking over his senses as Mark soothed the boy to sleep, waiting till his breathing evened out before turning off the lamp on his bed side table. Mark took one last glance at Yugyeom under the moonlight that filtered through the translucent curtains covering his windows, the silver light making the boy look like an image of innocence, beautiful and pure. A soft smile bloomed on Mark’s face as he nuzzled into his pillow, still facing Yugyeom as he fell asleep.

The sound of his alarm pulled Mark out of his slumber, the man reaching over with one had blindly to turn it off. Once successful, Mark turned back to where he was snuggled in bed, a warm face pressed against his chest. As the realisation hit him, Mark forced his eyes open to look down, seeing a head of raven hair just under his chin. At some point the previous night, Yugyeom had discarded his own blanket, dumping in onto the floor and made his way under Mark’s comforter, resting his head comfortably against the elder’s chest.

Mark willed his brain to stop the flashbacks to the first time they slept on the couch together as he tried to, once again, move from under Yugyeom. The elder was mostly successful, except for a few whines from the ravenette, he was able to slip out of the bed and make his way to the bathroom to get ready for work.

By the time Yugyeom woke up, Mark was sitting down to eat breakfast. The younger sleepily walked over to the table, sitting down on the chair closest to him. Mark put down his spoon to get up and pour Yugyeom a cup of coffee, which the younger accepted with a yawn and a sheepish smile. The flinch that Yugyeom made as he sipped on the drink didn’t go unnoticed by the elder.

“Not a fan of coffee?”

“Not really my thing, but I need caffeine to survive.”

“So what is your thing? What would you rather drink?”

“Iced chocolate,” Yugyeom answered before he could think about what he was saying, which caused him to slap his free hand across his mouth, his ears turning red in a way that Mark couldn’t help coo at. The way the younger pouted when he noticed Mark laughed at him made the elder feel butterflies in his stomach, so he quickly distracted himself, working on clearing the table and serving breakfast for Yugyeom.

“It’s fine Gyeom, I also like iced chocolates, and anyways, after all that your brother has told me about you, I doubt anything you tell me could surprise me much.” The loud groan that rang through the room made Mark burst out into giggles again, carding a hand through Yugyeom’s hair playfully.

“But kids like iced chocolate, hyung always says that.”

“Well, your hyung is wrong, adults can like it too, and anyways, you’re still a kid to me,” Mark joked, even though he internally cringed at the statement. With the way he thought about Yugyeom, sometimes he hated even thinking about the fact that Yugyeom was only nineteen, four years younger than him while also being his best friend’s younger brother.

“I’m not a kid anymore, hyung.” 

Mark just smiled before picking up his office bag from the couch and bidding Yugyeom adieu to leave for work. He would be lying if he said he didn’t think about Yugyeom all day, the younger’s face plagued his thoughts as he struggled to get through meeting after meeting.

By the time Mark got back home, Yugyeom had already set up the table for dinner, which they ate while talking about their days and such. There was a level of domesticity to their actions, how they fell into a routine over the course of the first week that Yugyeom stayed over. It took three nights of Yugyeom coming to his bedroom late at night before Mark offered to let the boy sleep with him, which he happily agreed to.

The first weekend they spent together, they slept in late, Mark waking up at ten to see Yugyeom draped over him the same way he was that day on the couch, his face nuzzled in his neck. Mark had gotten used to a clingy Yugyeom in the mornings and had resorted to setting his alarm ten minutes earlier so that he had enough time to get out from under the boy without getting late for work.

That morning though, as Mark moved his leg to free himself, he felt something hard press against his thigh, which made a soft whine to escape Yugyeom’s lips. It took Mark a moment to figure out but his face turned bright red as he realised what was happening. Trying to keep his own arousal at bay after the revelation, Mark managed to get one leg out from under the younger, but his other leg ended up between Yugyeom’s, effectively straddling the younger against his thigh.

Mark froze as Yugyeom started to grind against his thigh slowly, eyes still closed, mouth open, letting out broken moans. The arousal pooled in Mark’s stomach as Yugyeom brushed against his cock repeatedly, the elder having to bite his lip to not make any sound. It wasn’t until one particularly well aimed thrust of Yugyeom’s hips that a moan tore out of Mark, making the younger freeze and open his eyes.

The moment his surroundings registered to him, Yugyeom was pushing himself off Mark, getting off the bed till his back hit the wall and he shrunk down onto the floor, his face hidden in his palms as his ears turned red. The sobs were loud, as much as Yugyeom tried to silence them, which urged Mark to get up and kneel next to the boy, placing a hand on his shoulder but it only made the younger flinch away from him.

“I’m so sorry, Gyeom, I didn’t want to wake you up. Are you okay?”

“Why are you sorry hyung? I should have never asked to sleep here, I’ll move back into Jaebeom hyung’s room. I’m so sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, Gyeom, shit happens, I don’t think of you any different because of it, if that’s what you’re worried about. You can try sleeping in Jaebeom’s room if you feel more comfortable that way, but my door is always open, you can come in and sleep with me any time, okay?” Mark tilted Yugyeom’s chin up to look him in the eyes, wiping his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt and placing a kiss on the top of the younger’s head before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

Yugyeom had started cooking breakfast by the time he got out, but was soon shooed away by Mark who insisted on cooking for them instead. The younger opted to just sit on the bar stool on the other side of the counter and engage in small talk with the elder. The air of awkwardness that had been expected never took shape, both the men actively working to not let the incident get in between them.

It took some time for Yugyeom to look Mark in the eye without looking away immediately, but by the end of the day, they’d put the morning behind them enough for Yugyeom to invite the elder to his dance studio to show him a new choreography he was working on, since neither of them had any plans for the evening.

A quick ten minute walk later, Yugyeom was showing Mark a couple of stretches, guiding the elder through a simple warm up. Once completed, Yugyeom took it upon himself to teach Mark a simple choreography after finding out that the elder had formerly been a dancer in high school and had also been part of the same dance crew as the boy’s older brother.

It didn’t take long for the two to go through the routine, Mark being rather fast at picking up the choreography. Less than an hour after they had started, the two men finished two run-throughs of the song from start to finish, collapsing to the floor in exhaustion and celebration for getting through it without any mistakes. Sweat poured down both their bodies, Yugyeom’s visibly wet tattoos visible through the low cut armscyes of his tank top.

“Get up hyung, we need to practice at least a few more times before we can call it a day,” Yugyeom whined, pulling at Mark’s arm to get him off the floor, but the elder refused to budge.

“Did you really get tired that easily hyung? You’re really getting old, aren’t you?” The younger had a glint in his eye as he teased the elder, making Mark huff and get up, much to Yugyeom’s delight.

“Calling me old now, are we? I can still do most of the martial arts tricking that I learned back in college.”

“Wait you can do tricking? I don’t believe it,” Yugyeom snickered at the elder’s claim.

“And what if I can?” Mark teased.

“I’ll do whatever you want me to,” Yugyeom bets, looking sure that the elder was just pulling his leg. Instead of replying, Mark stretched his legs one by one before waving his arms out and pushing himself off the floor, spinning in a smooth circle before landing back on his feet. He hadn’t done a backflip in years but his muscle memory was enough to let him show off to Yugyeom. The younger stared at Mark, eyes wide and jaw dropped. Mark just laughed and used one finger to push Yugyeom’s mouth up to close his mouth.

“How was that?” Yugyeom had still not recovered from his shock to be able to understand the question so the elder resorted to attack the boy with his index fingers, tickling him as he snapped out of his head and ran away from his hyung till he was pushed against the studio door, Mark pinning him in place as he squirmed, trying desperately to escape.

“Okay s-stop now. That was really cool hyung. I totally thought you were bluffing. What can I do for you my majesty since you won?”

“Kiss me,” Mark whispered against Yugyeom’s lips, the younger’s eyes widening as he took in the lack of space between the two men as they stood crowded against the door. It took a moment of hesitation and Mark almost putting the request as a joke before Yugyeom closed his eyes and leaned in to place a small peck on the elder’s lips. Before he could pull away though, Mark threw one arm around Yugyeom’s neck, pulling him in for a deeper kiss this time. The elder nipped at the ravenette’s lower lip, making him gasp and allowing Mark to let his tongue wander into Yugyeom’s mouth. It was a while before they pulled away, foreheads resting against each other’s as they panted harshly.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” Mark muttered, looking up into Yugyeom’s eyes. The younger just replied with a peck on the elder’s lips before pushing him away, walking instead towards the speaker to change the song. The smooth RnB beat rolled into the room, one which Mark recognised from Jaebeom’s collection of lewd songs, and Yugyeom moved his hips in tandem with the kick of the track, running his hands up and down his chest and hips before lying flat on the floor, eyes still locked with Mark’s and started grinding sensually with the beat. Licking his lip, Yugyeom got onto his knees, thrusting his pelvis up suggestively, making Mark’s brain malfunction.

The younger slowly made his way towards Mark, turning around when he reached him to place the elder’s hands around his waist, grinding his lower body against his. It took a few moments for Mark to get used to the beat but within seconds they were writhing against each other, lust pooling in their systems. It took everything in Mark to push Yugyeom onto the floor and fuck him senseless, the rational part of his brain long since switched off.

Before Mark could do anything though, Yugyeom turned around, smirking at him before dropping down his knees, mouth latching onto the elder’s growing bulge through his sweats. Mark threw his head back as the pleasure coursed through his veins, letting his fingers tangle in the younger’s hair as Yugyeom’s hands pulled down the elder’s sweatpants and boxers to wrap a hand around his hard cock.

The sound of Yugyeom messily bobbing his head up and down Mark’s length filled the room, mixed with the groans that the elder made as he barrelled towards his orgasm. Just as Mark was about to pull Yugyeom’s head away, too close to his climax to hold back, Yugyeom looked up through his eyelashes, taking the elder all the way in and gagging on his length, forcing him to cum down the younger’s throat with a long string of curses. Pulling off with a loud pop, Yugyeom lapped at the tip of Mark’s softening cock, cleaning him up of any remaining cum before licking his lips with a satisfied smile adorning his face.

Mark pulled the younger up off the floor to help him out, pushing one hand into his sweats and wrapping his fingers around the boy’s leaking length, jerking him off with rough, fast strokes while pushing the fabric down his waist. It didn’t take long for Yugyeom to climax, already riled up from blowing Mark, he came with a high whine all over the elder’s hand, some of it landing on the studio floor.

A soft chuckle was shared between the two panting boys, their eyes tired as they cleaned up the cum from the floor and got dressed to head back home. The walk was silent, both men turning to steal a peak at each other every now and then. Yugyeom trailed a bit behind the elder, his long strides keeping him close enough to not get left behind. Just as Mark was about to tell the younger to catch up, he felt warm fingers softly into his palm. Smiling to himself, he tangled their fingers together, looking next to him to see Yugyeom’s red ears and matching smile.

Neither of them were ready to talk about what happened, there were a lot of things that needed to be discussed and cleared but both mutually opted to let each other bask in the afterglow of the evening’s activities. Mark quietly helped Yugyeom cook dinner, feeding him bits of ramen and kimchi as he set the table up. They sat next to each other rather than opposite, Mark eventually making his way onto Yugyeom’s lap at some point in the middle of the meal.

Soft kisses and warm hugs replaced the small talk that used to flow between them, the banter long forgotten. Yugyeom followed Mark directly to his bedroom after dinner, cuddling on the king sized mattress, Mark’s back pressed against Yugyeom’s chest, hands trailing up and down each other’s body as they fell into a deep slumber.

It felt like morning came too early to Mark as his eyes opened to the soft morning light flowing in from the curtains. Yugyeom’s youthful face rested against the elder’s chest, his hair sticking out in all directions. Not wanting to disturb the younger, Mark stayed wrapped in his arms, petting his head with one hand as he watched the boy sleep, face devoid of worry. The elder knew that that was going to change as soon as they started talking about the details of what they had done but he enjoyed it in the moment, for however long it lasted.

Fifteen minutes or so later, Yugyeom stirred awake, stretching his arms out with a quiet whine as he came to his senses. Seeing the elder next to him, the younger smiled sheepishly, before being greeted morning with a soft kiss to his lips. They cuddled in bed for a while, enjoying a few minutes of peace and calm before things got messy.

“So,” Mark voiced, which caused Yugyeom to sigh loudly and rub his face. Both of them sat up on the bed, their backs resting against the headboard, Yugyeom’s head on Mark’s shoulder. Neither of them were really ready to talk but Mark knew that dragging it on would only cause problems.

“Hyung, do you like me?” Yugyeom’s voice cut through the silence, making Mark realise that he had to finally address his feelings for the younger.

“Yeah, a lot,” Mark admitted, causing Yugyeom to turn his head to look at the elder in the eyes, looking for any hint of dishonesty.

“Since when?”

“Since the evening you spent here with Bambam on your eighteenth birthday”

“That long?”

“What about you? Do you like me?” Mark swallowed nervously, he knew logically after the events of the night before that the younger liked him but he couldn’t help but feel scared.

“Yeah hyung, you just seemed so out of my league though, being Jaebeom hyung’s best friend and all. I realised I just liked hanging out with you a lot, but I wasn’t sure I actually liked you till that one time when you took care of me when I came to the café, crying,” Mark remembered that evening vividly. Jaebeom had told him that he had something important to discuss so they had decided to meet up at the café after work. Bambam had a group project to work on and Yugyeom had been asked out on a date for the evening.

The clock struck half past seven as Mark stared at his half empty cup of coffee, the younger nearly an hour late. Before he could send Jaebeom a passive aggressive text about not making breakfast for him for a week, the door of the café opened, but it wasn’t Jaebeom who came in.

Yugyeom, dressed in oversized red sweater and skinny jeans, stepped inside. His eyes were puffy, glazed over from clearly unshed tears. Before he could make his way to the counter though, he noticed Mark sitting in their usual booth, smiling at him softly, eyebrows creased with concern.

“Yugyeom, are you okay?” Mark asked, voice soft and laced with worry, as Yugyeom settled with his drink in front of the elder. Instead of replying though, the younger took a shaky breath in, eyes watering suddenly, causing him to bury his face in his hands, wiping his tears with his sleeves. Wanting to comfort the younger, Mark slid out of his booth before nudging Yugyeom to move in and sliding in and wrapping an arm around his wide shoulders.

The younger dug his face into Mark’s neck as tears ran down his face, his pale white skin turning red as he rubbed at it aggressively with his sleeve. Mark pulled his hand away, wiping the tears with his thumb, rocking the boy back and forth in attempts to calm him down. They sat there for a while, the silence between them comfortable. Yugyeom calmed down after a bit of comforting from Mark’s end, which allowed him to recollect himself enough to actually talk.

“Do you wanna tell me what happened?” Mark asked softly, pulling away to face the boy but he just gripped onto the elder’s arm, keeping his head on his shoulder. 

“I went for that date I told you about last week, it was going pretty well, Chansung was really sweet, we were having a good time just walking around and talking after dinner when he asked me what I thought about love. I told him I believed in fate and that there was someone out there for me, as hopelessly romantic as it sounded and he stopped in the middle of the street and looked at me like I was crazy and called me childish and crazy and other things I can’t remember right now. At some point I was crying and people were gathering around us and the next thing I know I’m running here, hoping to find Jaebeom hyung” Yugyeom rambled, words stumbling out of his mouth, his voice shaky.

“I’m so sorry that he was an asshole to you Yugyeom, but you’re not childish. I also believe in fate, I think someday we’ll all find that special someone who’ll make you feel whole and content. He may not have understood what you were talking about but I do, Gyeom, and I don’t think it’s crazy” Yugyeom looked up the elder for the first time since he got there, locking eyes with him. The softness in their gazes mirrored perfectly, Yugyeom looking much more calmed down. 

They stuck around the café for a while, Mark treating the younger with a hot chocolate and his favourite brownies before driving the younger home.

“Yugyeom” Mark called out as the younger stepped out of the car. Yugyeom closed the door and leaned over to look at the elder through the window, which Mark lowered quickly.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be alright? Wanna come home with me and spend the night with Jaebeom or something?” Yugyeom’s face softened immediately, a grateful smile on his lips as he reassured the elder that Bambam had reached back and that he would be alright on his own.

Mark, though sceptical, let the boy go, waiting for him to enter the elevator before heading back home. When he stepped inside, the lights were still on, indicating that Jaebeom wasn’t back yet, reminding him of the younger asking him to meet him at the café and never showing up. Mark sent a text to Jaebeom, asking of his whereabouts before unconsciously opening Yugyeom’s contact.

Before he realised what he was doing, Mark had already sent a simple “Good night, Yugyeom” to the younger, which was quickly replied to, with “Good night, hyung. Thank you for today”. Mark smiled, telling the boy to sleep well before heading to bed.

“Hyung, you still here?” Yugyeom asked, pulling Marl out of the memories of the night. He nodded at the younger, turning to place a soft kiss to his forehead.

“How do we tell Jaebeom?” Mark thought out loud, which caused the younger to groan loudly and rub his face with his hands, roughly. They both turned to look each other in the eye, the tension was suffocating. Jaebeom meant a lot to both of them, he was family, whether figuratively or literally, they didn’t want to hurt him but they had no idea how he would react. Just as Mark was about to say something, he heard a small grumble, coming from the younger’s stomach. He didn’t even need to look to know that Yugyeom’s ears were red, the younger looked guilty but Mark just smiled.

“You know what, we’ll figure it out, right now I want pancakes” The elder pulled the comforter off them, heading straight to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. What he didn’t notice were the soft footsteps that followed behind him, which is why he jumped a bit when Yugyeom wrapped his hands around the elder’s waist, nuzzling his face in the crook of his neck, breathing in deeply to enjoy Mark’s comforting scent.

“Go brush your teeth, food will be ready by then” Mark tried to shoo the younger away but he clinged to the elder, marking it hard for him to move around. Mildly frustrated, Mark turned around to tell Yugyeom to leave, but the younger instead leaned forward to trap him between himself and the counter, making the elder a bit flustered. Before he could say anything though, Yugyeom leaned down to capture Mark’s plum lips into a soft kisses, his lips leaving the kitchen island to wrap around the elder’s lean waist. 

Mark’s hands instinctively went to Yugyeom’s hair as they made out in the middle of the kitchen, the younger pulling Mark up to settle him on the counter at some point. It was loud and sloppy, the two boys rubbing their hardening lengths against each other like hormonal teenagers. Mark had the sense to whisper ‘bedroom’ at some point, prompting Yugyeom to pick the elder up and carry him inside. As much as Mark wanted the younger to bend him over the kitchen counter and fuck him hard, he didn’t want to add another thing to the list of reasons why his roommate and child hood would want to kill him.

Yugyeom let Mark fall onto the bed softly, his red lips and bed head making him look debauched, a true vision of lust. Crawling over the elder, the two rid of their clothes quickly between the rough kisses and sucks to the neck and jaw. Things escalated from there smoothly, Mark handing Yugyeom lube and a condom from his bedside drawer before they got back to devouring each other. It was so natural between them, though it was the first time they were having proper sex together, it felt like they had been together all their life.

Yugyeom took his time to work the elder open, fingering him carefully while massaging his rim softly. It took Mark to threaten the younger with blue balls for him to finally stop, rolling on a condom and slathering himself in lube before slowly pushing into the elder, making him throw his head back and moan loudly. The younger waited to allow Mark to adjust but Yugyeom felt just so perfect inside him, making him feel so perfectly full, playing at his seams but not too much to actually hurt. 

“Gyeom, fuck me” Mark moaned, spurring the younger on to build up a moderate pace, his hand soft as it roamed over the elder’s chest. Before Mark could scream at Yugyeom to go faster, the younger took it upon himself to pull out every sound possible from the elder, making Mark’s eyes roll to the back of his head. By the time he felt the warmth of Yugyeom’s mouth around his left nipple, Mark was all but screaming in pleasure, being pushed full speed towards his climax.

“Hyung, you feel so perfect around me, so tight. You’re so perfect, hyung” Yugyeom growled as he folded Mark’s thighs up to his chest, folding the boy in half to thrust in deeper. Mark couldn’t be bothered about his neighbours hearing him as he let out a loud scream, Yugyeom hammering right onto his prostate. The two men moaned in overwhelming pleasure as they fell over the edge, Mark coming first, untouched, all over his stomach, Yugyeom following close behind.

Both of them panted harshly as Yugyeom pulled out carefully and discarded the condom before collapsing on the bed next to Mark. The elder reached over for his discarded t-shirt to clean himself up a bit, turning to Yugyeom to cuddle him once that was done. They laid like that for a while, basking in the glow of their orgasms, warm in each other’s embrace. It took Mark to push Yugyeom off of himself to convince the younger to take a shower, which ended up in Yugyeom on his knees, staring up at Mark through his eye lashes as he sucked the man off, hot water running all over them in the small glass cubicle.

Breakfast was had at nearly noon that day, Yugyeom helping Mark cook, stealing soft kisses every now and then as he worked around the kitchen and set up the table. They were lounging in the drawing room, Yugyeom watching a movie on the TV as one end of the couch, feet planted on the coffee table while Mark read a book, his legs stretched out onto Yugyeom’s lap, when Yugyeom’s phone rang loudly. The two of them looked at each other for a moment as the anxiety settled in, Yugyeom had set a specific ringtone for his brother’s contact, a song that the elder had produced himself, to distinguish him from the rest of the people who called and Mark knew about it from hanging around Yugyeom for so long.

“Hello?” Yugyeom’s eyes didn’t leave Mark’s as he answered the call. The elder mouthed something at him, making Yugyeom pull the phone away from his ear and place the call on speaker.

“Hey Gyeom, how are things going? You’re not troubling Mark hyung, are you?” The low baritone of Jaebeom’s voice rung through the room, causing the two men to instantly stiffen. It was almost as if they had gotten caught red handed with their hands inside the cookie jar.

“Things are fine, hyung, and I’m trying my best not to bother hyung too much” The younger’s voice was shaking the slightest bit, probably unheard by Jaebeom through the layers of audio compression but it was painfully obvious to Mark in the deafening silence of the room.

“Good, good. Is hyung there?” Mark felt a shiver rush down his spine as his best friend spoke his name, waves of guilt and anxiety crashing over him.

“Yeah, he’s here, I’ll give the phone to him, one second” Mark sighed quietly as he took the phone from Yugyeom’s hand, his own fingers trembling as he looked down at the photo of Jaebeom on the screen.

“Hey” 

“Hyung, it’s been a while. Yugyeom isn’t being too much for you, is he?” 

“It has been, Beom. And no, Yugyeom is a sweetheart, you’ve taught him to cook really well, looks like I’ve found your replacement, boy. You better learn how to make some fancy Italian recipes before you come back unless you want me to give your room to your younger brother” Yugyeom let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding as Mark eased into his usual witty banter with Jaebeom.

“But hyung, I’m your best friend, not Gyeom!” Jaebeom’s whining made both the men smile, the mood lightening as they ignored the voice at the back of their heads telling them that it was a bad idea to not talk. 

“Fine, as long as you get me something nice from Milan, and it can’t be a fridge magnet like the last time. I know you hate spending money, but like you said, I’m your best friend, not Yugyeom” The rest of the call went by that way, Yugyeom joining it at one point, the three of them catching up with their life’s happenings, while glossing over the whole ‘your best friend and younger brother like each other topic’.

Mark couldn’t sleep that night, he rolled around in bed as Yugyeom slept soundly next to him. He looked over at the younger a few times, caressing his face with his thumb, but he couldn’t let his gaze linger for too long without the guilt building up in his lungs, constricting his chest and making it feel like he couldn’t breathe. He had never kept secrets with Jaebeom. Hiding his relationship with the younger triggered all sorts or alarms in his head but he just didn’t know how to talk about it.

Getting out of bed, Mark gently opened the balcony door and slipped out, breathing in the cold air to clear his lungs, but it just weighed him down further. He couldn’t tell if he was overreacting, maybe Jaebeom wouldn’t have an issue with Mark dating his brother but he knows how over protective Jaebeom is when it comes to Yugyeom. His hands clutched the railing tightly as he took more shaky breaths, trying hard to calm himself down. 

He liked Yugyeom, a lot. It might have started with being physically attracted to the boy but as the months passed and he got to know the younger better, he fell harder and harder for him. It would kill him if Jaebeom didn’t approve of their relationship, he couldn’t live without Jaebeom and he didn’t want to live without Yugyeom. The younger made him breathe, he made him smile and he made him feel butterflies in his stomach in a way he never had felt before.

Mark jumped slightly as two arms circled around his waist, soft lips placing warm kisses on the back of his neck. Yugyeom had felt the empty space in the bed next to him and woken up, noticing the open balcony door as he came to his senses. The two of them stood like that for a bit before Yugyeom turned Mark around to look at him with a concerned gaze but Mark just shook his head and kissed Yugyeom’s forehead, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his head on the boy’s chest. Eventually Mark felt sleepy enough in Yugyeom’s warm embrace for them to go to bed, both falling into restless sleep.

The days after that flew by quickly, their rhythm barely altering even though their relationship had. Mark took Yugyeom out for dates every now and then, the two of them spending time together talking and having fun, ignoring the sense of doom that sat on their shoulders. Jaebeom video called a few times, the three of them talking for hours about his adventures abroad, Mark and Yugyeom’s heart heavy as they watched Jaebeom laugh brightly, their own smiles guilty.

They had forgotten that there would come a day when Jaebeom and Bambam returned, at some point. Things were just so perfect between them, they barely fought, and talked through things whenever they did, Mark patient as always. It wasn’t easy, both had qualities about each other that ticked the other off sometimes but they tried their best to maintain harmony.

Yugyeom had no classes that day, Mark had gotten a day off work, they were fooling around, playing video games on Mark’s old PS4, sharing stale popcorn and kisses between them. Things escalated at some point, Mark straddling Yugyeom as the younger teased him for losing. The kisses were deep and their hands left no part of their bodies untouched. It took everything in Yugyeom to not fuck his boyfriend right there but he relented, picking the elder up and taking him to his room. It was different that time; soft, slow, passionate, the two of them inseparable as they moaned into each other’s mouth at each of Yugyeom’s thrusts. Two mind blowing orgasms later, they sat there, leaned against the headboard, covered by only the duvet that pooled around their waist, warm in each other’s embrace, when the door burst open.

“Hyun- What the fuck?” The two men jumped as Jaebeom stood in the doorway in front of them, eyes wide and mouth open. He stood there for a moment as he processed everything, before turning a hundred and eighty degrees and dashing straight out of the apartment, before the two could call after him.

“Hyung, what do we do, will Jaebeom hyung be okay? I’m so scared, hyung” Mark pressed a kiss to Yugyeom’s forehead, telling him not to worry when Bambam called out for them, stepping into the room before they could move. His eyes blew open as his hand flew up to his mouth, a loud gasp escaping his lips as he too ran before they could react. The two of them looked at each other with guilty eyes as they grabbed whatever clothes they could find and rushed after the two men.

They looked for hours but they were nowhere to be found. Thirty unanswered calls on either phone and driving around almost everywhere imaginable later, they accepted defeat, heading back home instead, hoping Jaebeom would return and Bambam would call back soon.

Two days passed and there was no sign of the two men. Yugyeom tried going back to his apartment but Bambam was not there. Yugyeom contacted his parents but they hadn’t seen Jaebeom either. The anxiety built so high that they decided to go to the Han River to catch some fresh air, and figure out a new plan to find the two missing men.

There, sitting cuddled up in a small bench, were Jaebeom and Bambam, their eyes dark and puffy. Mark noticed them first, pointing it out quietly to Yugyeom. They took a deep breath together before approaching them, hands shaking as the nervousness thrummed through their veins.

“Jaebeom” Two heads whipped sideways towards the voice, their faces falling into an expression of hurt and confusion at the sight of Yugyeom and Mark. Before any of them could react, Yugyeom ran at full speed towards the two men, wrapping them in a tight embrace as he cried into Bambam’s shoulder. Mark snapped out his haze when Jaebeom wrapped a hand around the younger’s shoulder, patting his back lightly as he mumbled about being worried out of his mind.

“Can we talk?” Mark asked, his voice a shaky whisper, hope ebbing from his eyes as he looked at Jaebeom and Bambam. The elder of the two looked up, nodding slowly, slipping out of Yugyeom’s embrace to walk over to Mark, leaving the younger two to talk things out between themselves. Mark and Jaebeom walked in silence, their hands brushing by their sides as they felt the awkwardness of the situation suffocate them.

“So,” Jaebeom sighed, “You and Yugyeom, huh?” Mark couldn’t even look up to face the younger as he nodded, turning away when he felt Jaebeom’s gaze linger on his face. “Are you okay with that?” Mark’s voice still shook as he formed the words with his lips, his voice almost getting stuck in his throat as he stole a glance at Jaebeom’s heavy expression.

“I don’t know,” Mark nodded, he knew it wouldn’t be easy for Jaebeom to accept their relationship, and he appreciated the younger’s honesty about the situation. 

“Are you coming back home?” Jaebeom looked up at Mark, the two finally looking each other in the eyes, the tension palpable as Jaebeom whispered a barely audible ‘yes’. Jaebeom wasn’t ready to talk about everything, and Mark respected that, so they turned around and walked back to the bench.

“We’re going back home for the night, you two should head back to your apartment too,” Yugyeom’s face clouded with confusion for a moment but turned into a heavy blush as he reminded himself of the fact that no, Mark’s apartment was not his home and that he actually lived with Bambam. The younger two nodded, bidding Mark and Jaebeom goodbye, before following them to the car park where they piled into Mark’s car.

It was late when JB and Mark got home after dropping Yugyeom and Bambam off at their building, the two tired beyond belief as they changed into their pyjamas and finished up their night routine neither of them hungry for dinner. Jaebeom was first to tuck himself into bed, turning away from the door after he turned the light off. Mark stood in the doorway of the room for a moment, wanting to desperately say something to his best friend, but settling on wishing the man good night before turning the living room lights off and heading to bed himself.

Jaebeom was not home when Mark woke up the next morning, the elder sighing at the sight of a full American breakfast on the dining table and absolutely no trace of the younger. Mark considered sending him a text just to make sure he didn’t disappear again, but after tying out twenty different options, he gave up, deciding to rather just wait for him to come back by night.

Mark’s day at work went on forever, meeting after meeting draining all the energy in his system. By the end of the day, he was basically dragging himself through the front door of his apartment. In his exhausted state, Mark didn’t realise that it wasn’t, in fact, Yugyeom cooking him dinner as he’d gotten used to, so when he wrapped his arms around Jaebeom’s waist and felt the younger jump, he immediately pulled away, a blush creeping up his face as he apologised quickly and ran inside to hide his shame.

Shooting a quick text asking Yugyeom if he was doing okay, Mark changed into his normal home clothes before stepping into the dining room to join Jaebeom for dinner. The air was awkward around them to say the least, both of them wanting to say something but no words being voiced out. 

“Isn’t that Yugyeom’s tank top?” Mark’s head shot up from his plate as he looked Jaebeom in the eye and let his eyes wander down to the top he was wearing, realising that the younger was right. Yugyeom hadn’t taken his stuff back from Mark and Jaebeom’s apartment after the conversation the previous night and Mark had unconsciously put it on. He looked back up timidly, nodding to affirm Jaebeom’s question.

“Jaebeom” Mark repeated, the scene flashing back to the previous night, the two locking eyes once more. 

“Hyung” Jaebeom started, “Yugyeom and you are consenting adults, nothing I say is going to matter.”

“That’s not true though, you’re my best friend and Yugyeom’s older brother, your opinion means a lot to us. We haven’t talked about it but we both know that if you are against our relationship, we are willing to break up” Jaebeom expression morphed to one of disbelief as he tried to read Mark’s face for any hint of dishonesty. Mark witnessed a number of emotions cross Jaebeom’s face before the younger sighed loudly and hid his face in palms.

“There is something you don’t know, hyung. I had originally planned to not tell you in case things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to, but it’s something I want you to know before you continue your relationship with Yugyeom” Worry and uncertainty flowed through Mark as he braced himself for the worst, not sure what Jaebeom was about to tell him.

“Do you remember the day I called you to the café and never showed up?” 

“The day Yugyeom came to me crying?”

“Yeah that day. Lord thinking about it now, it really feels like you two were fated”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“That day, I planned to confess to you, tell you things that had been eating me on the inside since we met that day at the café all those years ago. I love you, hyung. I love you a lot, and not in the way you think, I’ve loved you, romantically for god knows how long. That day, when we first met, I saw you walk into the café from across the street. You looked misplaced in the surroundings, owning to the fact that you were not from here. I was curious, so I followed you into the café, and helped you out when I realised you didn’t speak Korean properly. I remember feeling butterflies in my stomach when I first saw your face properly. Later, when you came out to me, I hoped that someday you would fall in love with me. For years I yearned for your love, but after a point I realised that you didn’t see me like that. I waited for you to find someone, so that I could move on, and out of every person you could choose, you picked Yugyeom, and that hurt, for more reason than one.”

Jaebeom’s voice was shaking at this point, stray tears rolling down his face as he poured his heart out to Mark, the latter just sat there, absorbing how oblivious he had been for so many years.

“I had started noticing it a while back,” Jaebeom continued, “Somehow everything related to you was also related to Yugyeom. The reason I was near the café that day was because Yugyeom went for dance class right across the street and I had to drop him there that day because he missed his bus. I invited the boys over for Yugyeom’s birthday because his friends had all ditched him on his birthday and he didn’t have anyone except for me and you to celebrate it with him. The day I planned to confess to you, I got held back in the studio because Yugyeom had a dance competition the next day and he had asked me to edit a track for him which I completely forgot about, and my phone had died so I couldn’t even let you know that I wouldn’t be able to come and instead of me, he came to you that day. Even you paying more attention to me after we met Gyeom, I realised, was because you couldn’t accept the fact that you liked him. All I’ve thought in the last two days was if the reason we both became friends was so that you would meet him.”

“Jaebeom” Mark tried to interrupt, but Jaebeom held his hand up, silently asking the elder to wait till he finished.

“The two days Bambam and I went missing, they were torturous and insightful and painful and they opened my eyes, hyung. After I ran out of our apartment, I went straight to the café, because it was the only place that brought me comfort. Before I could get in though, Bambam showed up behind me, and his eyes said it all. We sat opposite each other for an hour before either of us could utter a word. We were just so shocked and so unsettled, we decided to book a hotel room to allow us to have some space. In those two days, we talked and talked and talked, trying to figure out where we’d been blind. Bambam confessed to me how he was in love with Yugyeom, the same way I was in love with you and we cried together till the hurt reduced enough for us to take a walk, which is when you found us.”

Mark closed his eyes shut tightly, a single tear falling out of his left eye, his mind overwhelmed with the pain he put his friends through.

“Please don’t blame yourself for what happened to me and Bam, none of that was your or Yugyeom’s fault. We don’t want you to break up because of us, we want you to be happy” Taking Mark’s long fingers into his own hand, Jaebeom grasped them reassuringly, smiling through the tears. Unable to control his emotions anymore, Mark ran around the table to wrap himself in Jaebeom’s warm embrace as he apologised repeatedly, Jaebeom just shushing him as he rubbed warm circles into his back.

They slept like that, that night, Mark wrapped in Jaebeom’s arms on the latter’s bed, both of them too emotionally exhausted to think about anything else. The next morning, Yugyeom and Bambam showed up to their apartment, tired but genuine smiles etched on their faces. The four of them sat in the living room, each nursing a warm beverage of their choice and talked till the sun came down, clearing all miscommunications. They talked about the difficult things first, and once they were done, the younger’s allowed their childish sides to come out, laughing and playing along like they did the first time the four of them hung out together, the nostalgia and memories bright on their faces.

It took a while for them to adapt to the new arrangement, Jaebeom and Mark rebuilt their friendship from ground up and Yugyeom and Mark worked on their relationship. Somewhere along the way Jaebeom realised he had a massive crush on Bambam, the two having started to spend lots of time together after the two nights they spent in the hotel room together.

It took lots of bribing for the youngest to help Jaebeom out, but in the end, they planned the perfect date, tucked in the corner of a fancy restaurant that according to what Bamabam was told, all four of them were supposed to attend but only Jaebeom showed up to. It took a bit of egregiously expensive wine for Jaebeom to muster enough courage to actually ask Bambam out properly, and the first response he received was a slap to his shoulder followed by an angry ‘I thought you’d never ask’ at which point Mark and Yugyeom, who had been sitting in a table not too far away from Jaebeom and Bambam’s, got up to join the two love birds.

Things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows for either couple, but as time went on they learned to love each other right. After a year of travelling back and forth between apartments for clothes and personal belongings, Mark finally asked Yugyeom to move in with him, planning with Bambam so that he could ask Jaebeom to move in with him. The packing didn’t take long since half of their belongings had naturally shifted places with how often Yugyeom was over and Mark’s place and Jaebeom at Bambam’s. But that didn’t mean the move didn’t hurt, Mark cried as Jaebeom moved everything into his car and Bambam whined as Yugyeom took all the boxes out of their apartment.

Their friendships were too deep to break so easily, so the couples planned double dates to spend time with each other. When Mark first met Jaebeom, he didn’t know what fate had planned for him but now, he wished only that fate kept the four of them, the way they were, forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr!


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